The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1887-06-26
OYER TIE DEyII5s TRACK.
Ths Grin.iea strasxer's Mile . Minute %
Morsebnck-A Feat - which ths 1ee're'
or Equestrianisr> Aasrd No Fnreue.

back, In the saddle"
As O grizzled stranger with duartzite pin
made this remark, silence fell upon the httie
group OF turfmen who sat In the corridor OF the
Windsor Hotel. at Denver. the other evening.
Tho man who had just told Of driving an un-
recorded mile In 2:11 arose deliberately.
brushed the ashes of his cigar buttonod his
overcoat, and walked away. II am naf. my
self" somebody began.
Hold on" said the stranger. this isn't
lie. It's q cold, clammy truth. and III back It
with money"
Have you the papers for itT
"No, nor the judges afidavts. In fact, mo-
body saw 1t except myself. buff you will permit
mo to tell you tho circumstances, I'll leave 1t TO
yourself whether It Isn't q fact"
"Blazo away"
The group drew closer. Even tho man who
had walked OF suspended his conversation
with the hotel clerk and listened on the quiet.
The grtzzled stranger removed section OF
tobacco from his mouth and began:
This happened five years aGo last fall.
was living in Leadville at the time. but had
mining interests that took me frequently into
the outlying districts, for q radius Of perhaps
dozen miles. These trips I nearly always
made on horseback. on, tough little bronoho.
hard mouthod. trained to mountain roads, and
twenty hours on q stretch. On the occasion In
question started very early one clear. cold
morning for o claim owned on the other side
OF tho divide. on the slope OF what is called
Gold Mountain-you can find it by looking on
any map. To reach 1t had to FIRST Cross Ten
nessee Park and then wind over very
crooked, tortuous trail that gradually assembled
to pass somewhere aboye Timber Pine: 1t
But nine By the road owing to the freauent Zig
tagging or lacking made necessary by the
steepness Of the range.
when seass Sss Sa Sad 'e
men at work there, ate dinner at their cabin.
da how adS
ground. where everything is dark. and when
The to s h it
hundred yards of had crawled up to the wind
lass was annoyed. too. for there her, was sug,
said It the 20 lost time IN
aistsnee es reached and ali the
Iesen hs Fey ss Sessn ap4 r asd
tho broncho. and finally began tho descent.
:" The road beyond the pass led down long.
took Ss rnses q pine and
ssp dss the to ns bss
sSsa sad sSE Hs' aSsE
af nS d rsss
sss$S s4HsS the SssasSa ~
plan the as
q distance proved to be gentle ones, and wa!
soon, pretty nearly across. The spur was well
rotted as they lay and on the far side the de-
clivity extended down ut an even slope clear
as H fe hes sk poW %ae hs
road like q tiny streak. I remember yet how:
between the tree tors caught gmpsds1 Of
through it, and the whole thing looking Ike
some map IN my old geographic, That was the
before my horse staggered. stumbled, plunged
q little, and then came down with o crash. first
bis S Sys sR s hsn Readily DC G Se as
he Toll In such q way that my right leg. without
being crushed or even much bruised. was
- Right here lot ms, stop to explain . cireum-
stance that yill enable you to understand the
de ee Lacy OF TcadSilie. and extendins up
srs cs shoS f f Is sp Rs a
PM, trunk. and built solialy against the iacs
down without obstruction, and use soon makes
e com Saves s'i great deal Of HAULING
for as tho trees are cut thoy are dragged over
6s g 1ara ike into the ro ~ a &c d9w the
course OF time the pressure viii drive the
Il pS. he e eass t2 The hSel d as
year, and piqo needles. dead boughs, and
@ Was IN we'll ssoash
with the m9untaip rs to knST the instant a my
| log shoot. l was not aware Of 1t at the Time
broke his baek, then and there. and he never
:" 1t takes a moment for, the coolest head to
clear itself in.times OF unlocked for peril, and
op Sasy
Goi1g iaste5 breath nothng to stop
saddle. The leather flaps had twisted around
and kept my legs from rubbing against the
iron. Even had they not. jumping, off would
have been out Of the question, fhave never
Who have Out 'hs Why
not faint and H dd not get aizzy h xas
soemed rGa sudden esr up the @ne
tain and suck the breath out of my mouth. but
could see BLACK spects grow s suddenly into big
pines and then ems shoot thp past me- could even soc
.s'n ss some
over It all was a siekening feeling az though,
! was plungIng out into immeasurable space.
80 strE3g was ths that even standing
nausea as all support seemed 70 give away, the
| II forever. A mass OF rock as large as this ho-
tel was . be enc me- As Iookedls seemed to
black line Of forest below; shot through II. as
triod to shut my eyes. It was impossible.
tried to scream. The air had turned to stone
II have read that when men are about to die
their lives reel out before them, like a piano.
| rama. Mine didn't. All could think Of was
| the crash, the bloody mascot man and horse
lying somewhere in the, valley. and | remem-
that II, would all be oyerin an instant, and that
It wouldn't hurt me. knew we must be near
| ly there The trees and rocks were indistin-
guishable; when I'll of sudden black mass
beaten. bruised and hurled over and over. and
| then everything was STILL
| When the moon was we'll up came to my
| self. l was lying In q snowdrift, rubbing at my
head and moaning: After q long timo erayled
my very helplsssness. I must have been 9 lit
| way to Lncy's mill. n quarter OF n milo ba-